People urged to have their say on urgent and emergency care plans

Local people are being invited to a series of engagement events to have their say on bold and ambitious plans to transform urgent and emergency care services across Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven.

The three local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs): NHS Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven CCG, NHS Bradford City CCG and NHS Bradford Districts CCG have published a joint strategy which sets out how urgent and emergency care services in the district will develop over the next five years.

The overall aim of the strategy is for services to meet people’s needs, be high quality, clinically safe and affordable; be easy to understand and use; be responsive; and be joined up with other health and social care services.

People can now join in the debate at a number of open meetings which are being held during September to discuss the plans and gather public comments.

Dr Andy Withers, clinical chair of Bradford Districts CCG, said: “We want people to influence the services we commission, and the future of urgent and emergency care services is a really important area which we want to get right for the long-term, so we value people’s views on the changes we want to make.

“Our strategy is about improving the way people access and experience services, building on what works well and proposing changes to the areas that need to be improved. There are many ways that people can have a say, and they can come along to one of our meetings to speak to CCG staff about the plans.”

Urgent and emergency care is a key focus for the NHS both locally and nationally as these services are being squeezed from all directions. The CCGs are committed to developing new ways of working to match increasing patient demand and expectations of immediate access to services that meet their needs – 24-hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year.

One of the most ambitious changes proposed is for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to develop a new major emergency care centre (MECC) to deal with major emergencies and build on its existing strengths and specialist services. It also wants to upgrade its facilities by creating an urgent care centre to focus on minor illnesses and accidents.

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust is also committed to working with local partners on better ways to manage emergency care. Its plans include: developing new emergency department facilities; being more efficient in discharging patients and reducing admissions of patients with long-term conditions; and improving urgent care across the whole health community.

The strategy, which reflects the plans of all the local NHS and social care organisations involved, is not about reducing services, but about making sure that services are less fragmented and more easily accessible. It also has a strong focus on self-care, prevention and improved management of long-term conditions.

It brings together public feedback from earlier engagement work done in the district, plus national NHS best practice on developing urgent and emergency care services which are fit for the future and sustainable.

The strategy expects to deliver the following benefits:

improved experiences and health outcomes for patients

better access to primary care

improved quality of services

improved management of urgent and emergency care demand

a ‘right first time’ urgent and emergency care system that reduces inappropriate access